Study Summary

Forty-eight patients with chronic mechanical low back pain were randomized to receive either the Powers’ program combined with conventional physical therapy or conventional physical therapy alone. The primary outcomes of interest were pain and disability. Secondary outcomes included gluteus maximus strength, single-limb triple hop test performance, and single-limb crossover hop test performance. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and after 4 weeks of treatment. Overall, the results of the study revealed that both groups demonstrated significant within-group improvements in pain, disability, gluteus maximus strength, and functional performance. However, between-group analysis showed no significant overall Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) difference, although post-hoc analysis demonstrated significantly greater improvements in gluteus maximus strength in the Powers’ program group. The findings suggest that adding the Powers’ program may enhance targeted gluteus maximus strengthening in patients with chronic mechanical low back pain, but additional research is needed to determine whether these strength gains translate into superior functional or pain-related outcomes.